Buffalo Shooting Horror: Innocent Lives Lost in Racist Rampage
Thirteen people were shot at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo on Saturday, leaving 10 dead and three injured. The victims, aged 32 to 86, include a retired cop, a community activist, and a kind-hearted grandmother. Police say the attack was a brutal racist hate crime.
Tragic Victim Toll: Heroes and Helpers Among the Dead
- Roberta A. Drury, 32: Moved to Buffalo to be with her brother after his bone marrow transplant.
- Margus D. Morrison, 52
- Andre Mackneil, 53
- Aaron Salter, 55: Retired cop working as a security guard at the store.
- Geraldine Talley, 62
- Celestine Chaney, 65: Devoted grandmother.
- Heyward Patterson, 67: Regular churchgoer who gave shoppers rides to the store.
- Katherine Massey, 72: Community activist praised for her “beautiful soul.”
- Pearl Young, 77: Volunteered at soup kitchens every Saturday.
- Ruth Whitfield, 86: Had just visited her husband in a care home.
The youngest victim shot in the attack was 20-year-old store worker Zaire Goodman, who was discharged from hospital. Two others – Jennifer Warrington, 50, and Christopher Braden, 55 – survived with injuries.
Sickening Motive: A Racist Hate Crime in a Predominantly Black Neighbourhood
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said the attack was clearly a hate crime targeting the predominantly Black neighbourhood near the supermarket. Eleven of the 13 victims were Black.
Authorities revealed that the gunman, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, had a history of extremist views. A 180-page manifesto surfaced, in which he calls himself a fascist and white supremacist. Buffalo police confirmed this was a deliberate racist attack and will be prosecuted as such.
Missed Warning Signs: Questions Mount After Shooting
Questions are swirling over missed red flags. Gendron was briefly hospitalised for a mental health evaluation last year after making a vague threat at school. Yet he wasn’t on any FBI or state watchlists, and passed a background check to buy his gun.
“I want to know what people knew and when they knew it,”
said New york/" title="York" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">York Governor Kathy Hochul, demanding answers on the lead-up to the attack.
Gendron was arrested quickly and has pleaded not guilty to murder charges. He is due back in court on 19 May.
America’s Gun Violence Epidemic
Saturday’s shooting is the worst mass shooting in the US so far in 2022. Gun violence claims around 40,000 lives annually in America – a brutal toll that includes suicides and frequent mass attacks.
